Three New York City Council Committees spent Friday afternoon digging into the way the city dug out from the recent snowstorms. The focus of the meeting was not just on cleaning the roads for cars, but also on improving sidewalk cleanup to benefit those in wheelchairs. On Friday, City Hall sa w many people with disabilities imploring lawmakers about their struggles due to the amount of snow blocking sidewalk paths. “I became a wheelchair user 12 years ago, and I learned that I didn’t go out at all when it was snowing,” Michael Ring of Disabled in Action of Metro NY told News 4. “Even if it was clear in front of my house, I didn’t know if it would be clear at the next corner.” Acting Sanitation Commissioner Javier Lojan says his team sought to emphasize pedestrians and transit in recent snow-clearing efforts. The city implemented geotagging bus stops and installed an automated system that prioritizes 311 complaints with keywords like “disability”. New York City also issued more than 5,000 fines to property owners who didn’t clear the required 4-foot paths on sidewalks. Those in wheelchairs stress that fines alone don’t clear sidewalks and curb cuts. “Well, I saw a difference between the first snowstorm and the second storm because we met with them,” Jean Ryan of Disabled in Action of Metro NY told News 4. “And they listened, so it was all over in their messaging to shovel 4-feet wide. But people did not do it, so it’s gonna take them a while to learn that.” Another complaint that developed at the hearing included the timing of the hearing itself. The group Disability in Action criticized the decision to hold this hearing while snow and slush remain on sidewalks, depressing the number of disabled New Yorkers who could participate.The chair of the committee on disabilities cited scheduling complexities but apologized – saying she would try to do better in the future.  ...read more read less